I’d love it if we made it.

There’s no other way to say this: tonight’s song will speak volumes to everyone. From the moment I heard it on the radio two days ago, I was floored — and I don’t want to get up yet.

The 1975 is a one-man band that I hadn’t really enjoyed in the past (mainly because several songs revolve around sex, holding grudges in relationships, all that jazz). I felt that Matty Healy sometimes got a little too close to the vices that he now works so hard to distance himself from. However, as of late, his lyrics and general outlook have matured (see, for example, this Yahoo article in which Healy fully owns up to his white male privilege).

But what he’s dropped now is a masterpiece, a wake-up call that calls out the ugly, greedy, and, maybe worst of all, dismissive side of our kind.

And this song could not be more relevant.

Everything about Healy’s words is so uncensored and raw that I can only imagine each line sparks polarization and mixed feelings. Good. That’s the point.

“Selling melanin then suffocate the black man.”

“Start with misdemeanors and we’ll make a business out of them.” 

“Oh, fuck your feelings, truth is only hearsay”

“A beach of drowning three-year-olds”

“Kneeling on a pitch, ‘I moved on her like a bitch”

When I listen to this song, the troubles of this world become clearer and more bearable. I accept that hate will always be on our heels. I find it just a bit easier to admit that I want to — and can — change this world for the better. I want there to be no more Trayvon Martins, or Botham Jeans, or Eric Garners, or Sandy Hook teachers and children. I’ll keep on striving to inspire kindness and understanding. I want to see that the next person who serves as Commander in Chief of the U.S. is known for diplomacy, open-mindedness, and common courtesy.

America is not lost.

War is still not the answer.

There are prejudices and racial power differences at work which divide us even further.

We will still fight to assert our beliefs and be heard.

The chorus that Healy sings is perhaps the most important takeaway, his message so resounding and central that I can’t help but remain hopeful: 

I would love it if we made it.

• 

Thank you for stopping by and seeing what Aural Autumn is all about. Leave me a comment with the line which has stuck with you the most, or how you feel about this song overall.